As straightforward as it gets

Brought my sons, aged 14, 11 and six to Stages’ Footloose matinee last Saturday. It was with some trepidation that I brought them, not certain if they would sit through the play and enjoy, or be fidgeting, mumbling under their collective breath that a quick escape was in order. Weaned on action movies, computer games and animé shows, I’ve always pushed for them to develop some kind of appreciation for theater and musical comedy. Especially in the case of the two older boys, there aren’t that many options around. Most productions either go flat out for the more lucrative children’s market that leave adolescents cold, or pander to them while insulting their nascent intelligence. This early on, let me say that the boys unanimously agreed that Footloose was a winner, that it was ‘cool’.

While it helped that the lead characters of Ren McCormack and Ariel Moore were played by Jay-R and Iya Villania, the boys quickly got over the notion that Ren would suddenly break out and start singing about 24/7 and cellphone offers, or that Iya would seek some contestants from the audience for a game segment. Based on the 1984 hit movie that starred Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, then turned into a successful Broadway musical in 1998, Footloose remains true to the original story that gave the film the box-office nod it enjoyed. Of course, immediate familiarity with the musical score is propelled by the Kenny Loggins’ song Footloose which opens the musical, and is part of the original film’s equity.

The plotline of Footloose is as straightforward as it gets, the classic confrontation between ultra-conservatism on one hand, and spirited youth on the other – with dance and Rock ‘n Roll the metaphors for this struggle. In this day and age, I did take the time to relay to the boys how the setting is Bible Belt middle America, where you spell conservative with a capital C, as they found it hard to believe that something as simple as dancing could be considered illegal or sinful. And of course, as the story develops we discover how denial and anger over the death of a loved one is the rationale behind the extreme reaction to outlawing dance and plain fun.

There’s a stellar cast assembled for this production; including the likes of Audie Gemora (as Reverend Shaw Moore, father to Ariel and guiding light to the repressed community of Bomont), Agot Isidro-Sandejas (Vi, the Reverend’s wife), Carla Martinez (Ethel, Ren’s mother), Jonard Yanzon (of 17:28 fame, who takes on the role of ‘rebel’ Chuck Cranston and alternates with Jay-R in the role of Ren), Kyla Rivera (who manages the vocal group Akafellas in her ‘other life’), Nikki Valdez (yes, that Nikki, and she’s a revelation on stage), and Maoui David (Miss Bounce of the shampoo’s music video). The day I watched, standouts in the supporting cast were Caisa Borromeo as Rusty and Glancarlo Magdangal (also a member of 17:28) as Willard. Willard is the goodhearted doo-fus who befriends Ren and is the object of Rusty’s affections. A lot of the lighter moments and laugh-out comedy emanate from these two larger-than-life characters, as does the song Let’s Hear It from the Boy.

The direction of Chari Arespacochaga is assured and she makes full use of Mio Infante’s set design. The choreography of Rene Sagaran and James Laforteza had my boys smiling; although I personally wished they would have allowed the performance to cut loose a tad more. There always seemed to be a veneer of restraint, of complying with conventions of ensemble choreography when a little more indulgence would have gone well with the audience.

Jay-R saves his ‘showboating’ for the very last number and had he shown a little bit more of the ‘flash’ in the opening numbers, it would have been more demonstrative of the pure, unbridled yet safe enjoyment of dance.

Footloose is the very first turn of Jay-R and Iya on the Philippine stage, and they acquit themselves admirably. Their lack of stage experience is only evident when one notices how their delivery of the better-known pop songs from the soundtrack (Almost Paradise and Holding Out for a Hero) are that much stronger and assured than the speaking parts. One minor observation would be that Jay-R basically turns Ren into Jay-R, rather than creating a persona that is uniquely Ren. Given that this is the first time I watched him on stage, it didn’t really matter, and this ‘interpretation’ was Ren for me as well. But I hope that if he decides to take on another stage play, I’ll see more versatility and flexibility in ‘entering’ and ‘creating’ the role.

Iya is a unique talent, already garnering notice for her co-hosting chores in Wowowee and as a VJ on MYX. Given the limitations of her role as Ariel, she still manages to convey the conflicting emotions that course through the character – that of being loving and conventional daughter at heart, while playing reckless and semi-wild rebel to curry attention from her parents. Along with the other young girls, she turns Holding Out for a Hero into a rousing number, one of the highlights of the first act.

Audie, Agot and Carla are standouts when it comes to performing thought-provoking ballads and more Broadway-type songs. Their experience, either as theater habitues or live performers, comes through and it’s still great to watch such assured performances.

The ultimate test for my three boys was asking them if they’d like to watch the play again. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them respond affirmatively.

A couple of suggestive gestures require a dose of maturity (for my teeners) or ignorance (the bliss of childhood). But their nods were judgment enough for me on the vitality of this production and its appeal across different ages.

Footloose is on its last weekend at Meralco Theater tonight, tomorrow and on Sept. 25.